White Sands

Monday, November 26 we left Carlsbad and headed for Alamagordo, NM.  We took Hwy 285 north to Artesia where our RV GPS and Google Maps showed us 2 different routes.  Google had us turn west along Hwy 82 straight to Alamagordo, the most direct route.  The RV GPS had us continuing north to Roswell, then west, and then south to Alamagordo.  An extra hour in driving time.    Our Garmin RV GPS allows us to input the width, length and height of our unit and is supposed to provide us with a route free of clearance issues.  I wanted to ignore the Garmin as Hwy 82 looked like a major highway and couldn’t see any reason why it would be a problem.  Lori encouraged me to listen to the Garmin and since I always listen to what my wife says (she may have to say it 2 or 3 times but eventually she gets through to me)  we took the long way.  Good thing I listened.  Turns out there is a long tunnel on Hwy 82.  Mark and Jan, who were a few hours behind us as they stopped to get their windshield fixed, took 82  and had no problem however they are not as high as we are.  I tried to find out the height of the tunnel but none of my online searches provided me an answer.  Turns out Semi’s are not allowed on that route, mainly due to the steep grades, but could also be due to the tunnels.  Regardless our drive was a bit longer but better safe than sorry.        

What you might ask is Alamagordo’s claim to fame.  For travellers like ourselves the attraction is its close proximity to White Sands National Monument.  Plenty of RV Parks and only a 15 minute drive to White Sands.  We checked into Edgington RV Park for an overnight stay and at $18. with Passport America it was priced about right.  We got set up, had lunch and with Mark and Jan still an hour away we headed to White Sands.

We visited White Sands in 2014 and were impressed with the scenery.  Very fine grained sand the colour of snow, dunes rolling forever with a mountain range in the distance.  The only problem with that visit was that it was a day with heavy clouds which had the effect of making everything various shades of grey.  This time we had some light wispy clouds mixed with blue sky resulting in much more dramatic colours.  We didn’t have much time as it was already late in the day but we got out on one good hike through the dunes before the shadows of the setting sun ended our day.  This is a place I could spend a day or 2 hiking through the dunes looking for that perfect shot.  

While we didn’t have a lot of time I still got some good shots.  

Perhaps my favourite shot of the trip so far.
Hardly any post processing required.  

They say Canon has better colour than Sony however I find I can do much less "post" with the Sony than I did with the Canon.  

The dunes go on and on and on with a nice little mountain range in the background. 

While were weren't supposed to, we let Charli off leash.
She hasn't run free for over a month and she make the most of it.
For the next few days she walked like an old man.
Just like me.   

Another favourite of mine
Thats why I could spend a couple of days here.
As the sun makes its way across the sky the light and shadows make big changes in the same view. 

Charli was wondering where mommy went. 

So many good pictures all taken within an hours hike. 

This shot wasn't too exciting so I played with it a little and this is what I liked best. 

This would have been good if I wouldn't have cropped it so tight.
Should have left some space below and to the left of the bottom bush.  

Our short trail out of the dunes back to our truck. 

Once we were done we headed back to the RV and found Mark and Jan all set up.  We had dinner and prepared for our departure the next morning. 

Carlsbad Caverns

We arrived at Carlsbad RV Park and Campground after a long days drive.  Got set up and relaxed a bit while Mark & Jan searched for a Windshield repair service.  We ended up getting together and going out for supper before retiring back to our respective RVs.  

Sunday morning we headed to Carlsbad Caverns which I had heard a lot about and we certainly were not disappointed.  The history of the caverns dates back some 250 million years when plant and animal remains formed a limestone reef along the edge of an inland sea.  60 million years ago hydrogen sulphide gas from deep oil and gas deposits combine with water to form sulphuric acid which dissolved cavities within the limestone.  As more limestone dissolved cavities enlarged and 3 million years ago water levels dropped leaving the air filled caverns.  Ground water drips through the limestone laden rocks forming stalactites, stalagmites and other cave decorations.  So there you have it.  250 million years of history condensed into one paragraph.  What you see below will not come close to conveying the immensity and awesomeness (are those really a words) of Carlsbad Caverns.

We took the elevator down 750 feet from the Visitors centre on the surface.  There are numerous caves and caverns, some still unexplored.  One cavern, called the Bottomless Pit, goes down another 140 feet.  There is a natural entrance to the caverns.  Walking down would have been fun (we took the elevator) but no way I would walk up.

The caverns have a lighting system that includes more than 1,000 bulbs and 19 miles of concealed wires.  The lights are designed to reveal the cavern’s natural colours.  Without the lights we would have been in total darkness.  Unable to see even the hand in front of our faces.

The Big Room is the largest known natural limestone chamber in the Western Hemisphere.  Floor space in the Big Room is estimated at more than 600,000 sq ft.  Think 14 football fields.  That would be US size football fields but still pretty big.  Keep in mind that in addition to the 600,000 sq ft the dome is 230 feet above where we were walking.  The pictures in no way convey the vastness of the caverns.  

Many of these caverns are filled with bats.  In the evening they make quite the show as they exit the caverns in the thousands for their nighttime hunting.  We were too late in the season to see the bats as they have gone into hibernation.  

The main caverns do not have any bats in residence anymore.  Probably too many tourists. 

Drip, drip, drip and a few thousand years later....

Sometimes the Stalactites and Stalagmites meet to form a column.  

Reminds me of some of those sea creatures from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

“Soda Straws” are thin, hollow stalactites formed by dripping water.  They are so delicate.  Almost like lace made of rocks. 

Note the Stalagmites at the bottom of the picture.
The smaller ones are called Popcorn because of the rough popcorn like surface.   

The walkways are all asphalt with handrails.  See lower right.
Easy to navigate however not level so still have to watch your step.  

Reminds me of frosting on a cake.  Must be getting hungry. 

Some of the formations have an interesting shape.
I will leave it to your imagination. 

Stalactites are formed from the ceiling by sediment and minerals left by dripping water.

So very delicate.  

Pools of water from ongoing drips.
 Was very humid which make it feel warmer than the constant mid 50's temperature 

Draperies are similar to Stalactites except they are shaped differently.  They look more like, you guessed it, draperies.  Also called ribbons.  When the minerals leave long brown yellowish stripes they are called Bacon.  

Stalagmites are formed on the ground from water dripping down from 

the ceiling leaving mineral deposits.  

Another few million years and we will have columns.

The ladder was installed in 1924 as part of a 6 month exploration of the lower caves.  Obviously not in use any more. 

Cave Explorers. 

We drove up from the plains below.  The caverns are directly below us. 

A beautiful sunny day up above.
Jan was having a bad hair day so despite my requests the hat and sunglasses remained in place.

And now for something completely different.

A comment on the performance of my new Sony A7iii camera.  I love it.  These caverns were a true test of its low light and auto-focus capability.  Despite the dark environment the focus almost always locked on and did so almost instantly.  Most of the pictures were shot at 1/30th of a second (the slowest I dared go for handheld) and at f4 (wide open for my lens).  To get any sort of picture in these dark conditions I pushed the ISO up to 12,800.  If I’d brought my tripod, which they allow, I could have slowed my shutter speed further and reduced the ISO.  Despite the high ISO and some post processing the noise is quite acceptable, especially when displayed on a computer screen.  Not sure if the quality would hold up in print but I seldom print pictures anymore.  My old Canon 60D would have really struggled in these conditions.  Does it sound like I’m trying to justify spending a months pension income on a camera.  Perhaps. 

Next up White Sands National Monument. 

Adios Texas

Its been awhile but between lots of travel, poor wifi and a few curve balls thrown our way I haven’t been able to provide an update on our travels.  We are now in Tucson for a month and we now have some time to get into a bit of a routine and while spotty, the wifi seems to be a little better.  

We left Fort Stockton, Tx on Saturday, Nov 24 for probably one of the ugliest drives we have experienced in our 4 years of Snowbird travels.  Very soon after our departure our 4 lane divided highway turned into a 2 lane with lots of much needed road construction.  We were driving through oil country so there were lots of wells, drilling rigs, processing plants and storage facilities.  The road was humming with trucks of all sizes, many were tanker trucks carrying either oil or water.  When I found out about the water trucks it took me a minute but finally figured out the purpose for all the water.  Hydraulic Fracturing.  This process has rejuvenated lots of old oil fields and also raised lots of environmental concerns regarding possible damage to the aquifer.  I won’t delve into that any further as it is a very hot topic, both here and at home, and I can honestly say that I have no idea who is right.  

We drove through Pecos, Tx and if there is an uglier town I haven’t seen it.  Pecos fit right in with the landscape we experienced.  At its best its not a pretty drive but all the oil activity gives it a gritty and grimy feel. Not a place to stop and take pictures thats for sure.  Lori asked me why we took this highway.  The simple answer is that its the only highway anywhere close to get us from Boerne to Carlsbad.  

With all the truck traffic and road construction on the 2 lane road I focused on avoiding potholes and large bumps which weren’t marked.  At one point I thought the trailer was going to leave the road surface and launch into orbit.  I’m sure I used every millimetre of travel on the trailers leaf springs.   Mark, who was following behind with his motorhome had an additional challenge.  That being dodging flying rocks.  One of the passing trucks threw one into the middle of his windshield and left a big stone chip.  When we got to Carlsbad it took him a few days to find someone who would fix it before it sent cracks across his massive (8 feet of curved glass) windshield.  It being the Thanksgiving weekend meant lots of businesses were closed, even their emergency services were off eating turkey somewhere.  He finally found a windshield repair place about 30 miles out of town.  Luckily it was on the way to our next stop and he arrange to get in on Monday morning.  

Since we have now left Texas behind, probably for good, let me provide a bit of a recap of our experience.  The Magnolia experience in Waco was worth the trip at least from Lori and Jan’s perspective.  Houston, nothing to go back to see there (keep in mind we don’t really like big urban areas and that describes Houston to a tee).  Galveston was a neat little town but been there done that.  Rockport and Corpus Christi was essentially a waste of time with our worst weather.  San Antonio and Fredericksburg were interesting but again, been there done that.  Our overall view of Texas, not that we covered it all and missed entirely the Snowbird capital of Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, is probably tarnished by 5 weeks of bad weather.  We did manage to enjoy the food and essentially I feel like we ate our way through Texas.  We ate out for lunch pretty much every day and ate well.  We focused on local fare and avoided large chain restaurants and we were rewarded with excellent food and lots of it.  We seldom had dinner when we got back to the trailer in the evening and that probably saved our waist lines.  Both Lori and I managed to loose a few pounds (I’m sure we will find them again) by having a really big meal at lunch, a light snack for supper and going to bed early before the munchie attack started.    

We have a 2 day stop in Carlsbad, NM to see Carlsbad Caverns and then a drive to Alamagordo, NM to see the White Sands National Monument and then we will hit Arizona.  We are all looking forward to some typical Arizona weather.  Sunny warm days, cool nights, very little rain.  Repeat repeatedly.  

Next up some pictures of Carlsbad Caverns.  Lots of pictures.